Survival Instinct
'' |image= |series= |production=40840-222 |producer(s)= |story= |script=Ronald D. Moore |director=Terry Windell |imdbref=tt0708974 |guests=Scarlett Pomers as Naomi Wildman, Vaughn Armstrong as Lansor (a.k.a. Two of Nine), Bertila Damas as Marika Wilkarah (a.k.a. Three of Nine), Tim Kelleher as P'Chan (a.k.a. Four of Nine) and Jonathan Breck as Dying Borg |previous_production=Equinox Part 2 |next_production=Barge of the Dead |episode=VGR S06E02 |airdate=29 September 1999 |previous_release=Equinox Part 2 |next_release=Barge of the Dead |story_date(s)=53049.2 (2376/2368) |previous_story=Equinox Part 2 |next_story=Barge of the Dead }} Summary Voyager is docked at the Markonian Outpost Space Station. Captain Janeway announces to the crew that the doors have been opened for anyone to visit. Seven of Nine and Naomi Wildman go to lunch together in the Mess Hall where they are surrounded by numerous alien visitors. A man approaches Seven of Nine and puts his briefcase-sized container on a table. When Seven of Nine notices the Borg equipment, she bolts up, and begins to experience memory flashbacks from her past as a Borg. The items turn out to be Borg relays from Seven of Nine's original unimatrix. The man offers them to Seven of Nine, but when he speaks it seems that his words are not his own and are instead chosen for him. Seven of Nine accepts the Borg relays and she tells the man that Captain Janeway will compensate him. As the man walks away, he communicates telepathically with two others, telling them to prepare to penetrate Voyager's security systems. Seven of Nine brings the Borg relays to Torres for her evaluation. Seven of Nine tells her how the items triggered visual images, sense memories, sounds and smells. Torres suggests that Seven of Nine was experiencing nostalgia when she first saw the relays. However, Seven of Nine insists that she isn't having any feelings whatsoever about the past. Seven of Nine leaves the relays for computer analysis. Just as she returns to her alcove to regenerate, the Borg relays begin to emit a soft beeping. Next, three Borg (the first is the man who brought Seven of Nine the Borg relays) enter Seven of Nine's alcove. Two assimilation tubes appear from one of the Borg's arms and begin to penetrate Seven's neck. Seven of Nine unconsciously becomes aware of their presence and when she opens her eyes she begins to fight them. Suddenly, Tuvok and the Security team's phaser fire hits the three Borg and they crumple to the deck. Seven identifies the three as Two of Nine, Three of Nine, and Four of Nine. They were all once members of the same unimatrix, but Seven of Nine has no idea why they were trying to access her memories. The three Borg tell Captain Janeway that their goal was to break their telepathic link and become individuals. Apparently, Seven of Nine and the other three Borg were the only survivors of a vessel crash eight years earlier. However, when they were reassimilated into the Collective, the three were somehow linked together permanently. When the three finally escaped, they had their implants removed but they couldn't break the telepathic link between them. They were hoping that Seven of Nine remembered what happened to them. Seven of Nine suggests linking her neurally to the three ex-Borg, in order for them to find the truth. Unfortunately, there is the possibility that she becomes trapped in the neural link. Despite the risks involved, Seven of Nine decides to go ahead. When Seven of Nine's neural link is connected, they discover that Seven of Nine was the one who reassimilated them. The Doctor then breaks the neural link between Seven of Nine and the other three Borg. As a result of the process, the three Borg damage their brains which sends them into a comatose state. The Borg will only survive for a month unless they are reassimilated into the Collective. Initially, Seven of Nine decides that their survival is the most important. However, after she talks with Chakotay, she decides that by removing their neural implants, they will be able to live as individuals for a short time. When the three wake up, they begin to make separate plans for their brief, yet individual futures. Errors and Explanations Nit Central # Richie Vest So if the three of them are linked together, how come the bald male is the only one who worries about hurting Seven? He is more considerate towards others, possibly due to his role in caring for his parents before he was assimilated. # Mandy on Wednesday, September 29, 1999 - 7:32 pm: '' Okay, so here is Tertiary Adjunct to Unimatrix One crashed on the planet surface, why are Two, Three, and Four of Nine taking orders from *Seven*? '''She decided to issue orders at the earliest opportunity, and the others – initially – decided to comply.' # Matthew Patterson (Mpatterson) on Wednesday, September 29, 1999 - 8:01 pm: While I agree with all of Seven's reasoning for severing the link between the three, I noticed that none of them mentioned the obvious one. That is, the three know where Voyager is, and if the Borg find out, they'll be a-coming! Chris Ashley on Wednesday, September 29, 1999 - 8:39 pm: Gee....the Borg have never proven to be all that bad at tracking Voyager in the past. They probably keep tabs on it all the time, but usually consider one Federation ship with one ex-drone irrelevant. Thus, it wouldn't really matter whether our triad knew Voyager's location anyway. # Shane Tourtellotte on Wednesday, September 29, 1999 - 8:13 pm: Why don't Borg knuckle-injectors (you know the ones I mean) leave wounds in one's neck once they withdraw? The nanoprobes are likely designed to repair the damage instantly. # Brian Lombard on Thursday, September 30, 1999 - 6:44 am: If these four Borg were all parts of the same unit, then how is it that 2, 3, and 4 weren't on 7's cube? Remember, that cube was destroyed by Species 8472 in Scorpion II. Perhaps I'm just not thinking fourth dimensionally. Seniram 11:41, March 15, 2018 (UTC) I may be wrong, but the episode gives the impression that the other three had already escaped from the collective before the events of Scorpion took place # Scott McClenny on Thursday, September 30, 1999 - 11:13 am: Uh,did anyone else notice that Marikka stated that prior to being assimilated she served on board the Excalibur? I take it this is NOT the same Excalibur that Captain Calhoun commands in the NEW FRONTIER novels but a different ship, either that or the incident she remembers occurs before Calhoun takes command of the Excalibur. Matthew Patterson (Mpatterson) on Thursday, September 30, 1999 - 2:51 pm: Scott: The Excalibur used in NEW FRONTIER is an ambassador-class ship that was heavily damaged in First Contact and was refitted prior to the novels. It could have been the same ship. Except for one problem. The shipwrecked Borg scenes take place eight years prior to this episode. That's stardate 45xxx. First Contact takes place in the 50xxx range. Therefore the Bajoran cannot have been assimilated any later than Redemption, Part II. Which is why Wolf 359 is such a likely date. Chris Booton (Cbooton) on Thursday, September 30, 1999 - 3:32 pm: Maybe the Excaliber was the mystery ship that survived Wolf 359. In several places I have read that 40 ships were there and 39 were destroyed, perhaps it was only badly damaged, but somehow some of it's crew got assimilated. # Chris Booton (Cbooton) on Thursday, September 30, 1999 - 3:32 pm: How does Naiomi Wildman find out the Borg Designation for diffrent species? Is Seven still stating them or something? I supose it could somehow be in the database but why? '''Keith Alan Morgan on Thursday, September 30, 1999 - 4:09 pm: Cbooton: Harry downloaded a Borg database in Scorpion (before being attacked by 8472). This is how the Borg designations could be in Voyager's database. ''' Category:Episodes Category:Voyager